How do You Make Vinegar?
Vinegar is made via a two-part fermentation process. First, yeast consuming sugars within fruits and grains and produce alcohol; this is known as alcoholic fermentation.
Second, acetic acid bacteria consume the alcohol from step one and convert it into acetic acid. Once all the alcohol is metabolized by bacteria and converted into acetic acid, you have vinegar.
To make vinegar at home, you first essentially make wild fermented fruit wine, and then that wine turns to vinegar!
How to Make Vinegar from Fruit
It is so easy to make vinegar from fruit. You only need three ingredients: fruit, sugar, and water. It helps if you have some raw apple cider vinegar with the mother as a starter, but it is not necessary.
You can use pretty much any type of fruit to make vinegar. I suggest sticking to high fructose fruits and staying away from high-sorbitol fruits. These are two types of fermentable sugars found in fruits, and high sorbitol fruits tend to cause kahm yeast.
These are my favorite fruits to use:
- apples
- pears
- mango
- strawberry
- grape
- figs
- watermelon
- Another favorite of mine is pineapple vinegar, and I have a specific recipe for that kind, click here
To make vinegar from fruit, you just need a good bit of whatever fruit you want to use, water, and some organic cane sugar. You also need a large glass jar. For this recipe, I suggest a gallon glass jar and a cloth cover with a rubber band. You have to use a cloth lid when making vinegar because acetic acid bacteria require oxygen to convert alcohol into acetic acid. I usually make cloth lids for fermentation by cutting up old t-shirts.
How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar
There is a slight difference between apple cider vinegar and apple scrap vinegar. The recipe in this blog post is more similar to an apple scrap vinegar, even though I use the whole fruit and not just scraps.
In order to make “true” apple cider vinegar, you need to first make apple cider, and then change that apple cider into vinegar.
Here’s my blog recipe for making apple cider at home. Once you make apple cider, you can turn it into vinegar by adding a vinegar mother and covering with a cloth lid. It should take about 4 to 6 weeks to turn the apple cider into vinegar.
I think my recipe (below) is easier and more functional for making vinegar at home. It’s definitely easier than going through the whole process of making cider first.
It is slightly less acidic than apple cider vinegar, but still delicious. Plus, this method is applicable to many types of fruit or mixes of fruits.
What is a Homemade Vinegar Mother?
Vinegar “with the mother” is another name for raw vinegar containing all the microbes from the brewing process. So, think of the mother as microbial cultures. Vinegar mothers form cloudy floating pieces within the vinegar and a SCOBY on the surface.
A vinegar mother SCOBY looks similar to a kombucha SCOBY but is often lighter with varying textures. Vinegar mothers in homemade vinegar are always unique. No two will look exactly the same because the wild microbes from fruit scraps will be slightly different across batches.
You can use the vinegar mother SCOBY from your first batch of vinegar to culture the next batch of vinegar.
Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
I still call the vinegar I make using this recipe “apple cider vinegar” when I make it with apples. It tastes almost exactly like the ACV I buy at trader Joe’s, and I bottle it in recycled apple cider vinegar bottles from the store.
The keys to remember when making ACV or any fruit vinegar at home:
- Stir the vinegar once daily. Remove the cloth lid, give it a good stir, replace the lid and repeat daily until you strain the vinegar.
- You must use a breathable cloth lid. The microbes involved in vinegar production require oxygen to convert alcohol to acetic acid.
- Use a clean glass container. It is best to use glass when fermenting acidic vinegar. Clean your equipment well before getting started.
What do you use fruit vinegar for?
I use my homemade fruit vinegar in any recipe where I would use store-bought vinegar. Since fruit varies in sugar content depending on ripeness, the acidity of each person’s vinegar will vary a bit depending on the fruit used.
It may or may not be adequate for pickling and canning pickles. To make a strongly acidic vinegar, you can use more sugar and use fruits high in fructose, like mangoes. You can also add in some sulfite-free wine, tequila, or vodka in place of some of the water.
You can also test the pH with a pH strip to see if it is good for pickling/canning. Vinegar that is safe to use in pickling recipes should be approximately 2.4 pH (about 5% acidity).
Here are my favorite ways to use homemade vinegar:
- for homemade salad dressing
- with homemade bone broth
- in heirloom culturing recipes like this fermented cherry tomatoes recipe
- in mineral-rich hydrating drinks (I like to mix a tablespoon of fruit vinegar into a quart of water with a splash of coconut water, orange juice and a pinch of sea salt for a homemade hydrating “gatorade”)
- I love using my fruit vinegar to make Fermented Pickle de Gallo.
- You can also use homemade vinegar in Oxymel and Fire Cider recipes.
Things You May Need:
How to Make Vinegar from Scratch
My easy fermented fruit vinegar recipe requires only four ingredients: fruit, sugar, water and starter. This is the perfect recipe to use up fruit scraps and overripe fruit. You can use this recipe to make homemade apple cider vinegar, apple scrap vinegar, berry vinegar, and more!
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Ferment: 9 weeks
Ingredients
- 6 cups of fruit*
- 255 grams of organic cane sugar
- Water
- 3 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar with the mother (as starter culture)
- 1 gallon glass jar
- tight-weave cloth covering
- rubber band
Instructions
- Please read the recipe notes.
- Chop the fruit into small chunks.
- Add the sugar and apples (or other fruit) to a 1-gallon glass jar.
- Add water to the jar until full.
- Add in a few tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar with the mother. This helps establish a good microbial community, and while it isn’t absolutely necessary to add I highly recommend it. If you’ve made vinegar before and have a vinegar mother, you can add it.
- Stir the mixture until all the sugar is dissolved.
- Place a cloth lid (tight-weave is best, like t-shirt material) on the jar and secure with a rubber band.
- Stir the mixture once or twice a day and allow to ferment at room temperature for three weeks. Don’t forget to stir it. I like to just do it first thing in the morning each day.
- You should notice the mixture bubble within one week.
- After three weeks of fermentation, strain out all the fruit pieces, replace the cloth lid and allow the mixture to ferment for 6 more weeks.
- You will notice a vinegar mother form on the surface (it looks like a kombucha SCOBY but is very light in color). You can keep this to start your next batch of fruit vinegar.
- After fermentation, bottle the vinegar and seal it with a solid lid. Store at room temperature in your pantry.
Notes
- you can use any of your favorite fruits in this recipe. High fructose and fructan fruits tend to make the best vinegar. See a list of my favorite fruits above the recipe card. Use organic and homegrown fruit whenever possible. Conventional fruits sprayed with pesticides may not work well and may lead to kahm yeast.
- Vinegar works best with a starter culture. While it is possible to make vinegar without it, adding a vinegar mother or raw apple cider vinegar with the mother to the mixture ensures success. If you have a kombucha SCOBY or raw kombucha, you can sub for that with good results.
- For very strong vinegar, you can also add in some sulfite-free wine, tequila, or vodka in place of some of the water.
Hey hey I bottled up a small batch of apple vinegar and there’s a bit of fizzy action happening. While I open a bottle I can hear it and see a stream of bubbles rise. What would the cause of this be? I did 3 weeks, strained, then 6 weeks before bottling.
It’s not done fermenting. Means there’s still some sugars in there. Sometimes it takes longer to make vinegar with higher sugar or super ripe fruits. You can pour it into a sanitized jar with a splash of some done vinegar with the mother and let it sit longer with a tight-weave cloth covering.
Hello,
I started my first batch 2 weeks ago and I don’t see any evidence of fermentation. Should I start over?
What “evidence” are you looking for? not much is going to happen with the smell in two weeks. the whole fermentation takes much longer.
Have you discarded the persimmon vinegar? You posted it on insta and I can‘t find it. aren‘t you happy with the result or have I just not found it yet? Thank you so much!
The persimmon vinegar I showed on Instagram was made using this recipe! You can use this recipe with basically any fruit. I just advise staying away from stone fruits (they’re prone to kahm yeast)
Just straining my first batch to give as Christmas gifts! Thank you for the easy to follow recipe!
I was reading comments about using frozen fruit, should we bring it to room temp first or is it okay going straight in with the water and sugar? Also if we add the mother (I noticed a lot of your responses say it’ll sink to the bottom) do we still stir the first 3 weeks? Thank you for your time and knowledge!
I followed all your directions and my vinegar did not make a scoby. What did I miss? Is it still usable? Should I let it sit longer? There is some stringy stuff, but not a scoby.
It doesn’t have to form a scoby on the surface to be a success! If you let it sit longer undisturbed, one will probably form. Might take longer if it’s cold in your home.
Hello! I made this recipe using apples. Believe I followed the recipe completely. From everything I have read of yours, it seems it all went to plan; measured exactly, never missed a day stirring, it all bubbled as you said it should. My vinegar did not form a scoby but I believe I read from your site not all will form one? Made it to the end of the six weeks a few days ago, finally gave it a taste test today…and it just tastes like a really sweet apple juice. Did I get something wrong? Does it need more time? I know you said vinegar like this often has a lower acidity but there is no vinegar taste at all. Thank you!!
it should not taste like sweet apple juice, it should be sour and tangy like vinegar. Did you add some raw vinegar with the mother as a starter culture?
Yes, I did. I used Bragg Apple Cider vinegar with the ‘mother’
Hi! Just found you and I am excited to try so many of your recipes!
However…on the fly, before finding you, I just threw some apples, unmeasured sugar and water into a fermentation jar w/ the ‘air trap/release’, weight and put it in my pantry. It’s been about 3 weeks. No stirring. I have a scoby that’s grown. Because I did this with very little knowledge my concern is whether or not it is safe. 😬 I’d hate to throw it out if not. Next time I’m using your instructions!
**Can I safely use what I’ve got?**
if you’re unsure about the vinegar you made, I suggest buying some pH strips and testing it to make sure it’s acidic. I can’t help much with recipes I haven’t tested myself.
This was very easy and my vinegar turned out great. It is very sweet, that makes it wonderful to drink a tablespoon or two, but does anyone know why mine turned out so sweet? I used apples I bought from the reduced produce section.
If it’s still sweet that means not all the sugar has gone through the two step conversion from sugar to alcohol to acid. The longer you let it ferment, the less sweet it will be. When it’s cold in the winter, fermentation can take much longer.
I have never made vinegar before, Would you please explain the starter as I have no idea how to make it .
Thank you
the starter for vinegar is raw vinegar. you can find raw vinegar at basically any grocery store. It’ll say “raw vinegar” and “with the mother” on the bottle. It’s the same concept as using store bought yogurt to culture milk to make yogurt.
Hello there! Thank you for sharing this. I am starting my vinegar journey and was wondering how do you tell the scoby from kahm yeast. Also, is kahm yeast harmful?
a scoby/mother is smooth and somewhat shiny, kahm yeast is crinkly and looks like chalk.
Very good 👍👍😊😊
Great to learn from an expert. Thankyou so much.
Hi Kaitlynn! Thank you so much for this recipe – I made a plum vinegar and a green grape vinegar that have both been really active so far! Unfortunately I did not use a large enough vessel and so there wasn’t a ton of liquid left after straining the fruit. What’s the best way for me to save it? Should I add more water and if so should I also add more sugar? Switch to a larger vessel and add the fruit back in along with more water (and would I need more sugar too)? Thank you!!
I’d say work with the liquid you have strained, just put it in a small jar. It can be your super special small batch vinegar. Don’t add water, that will dilute the acidity.
Then you can put all the same fruit you just strained in a larger jar with fresh sugar water, maybe some more fruits, and see how that does for a second batch.
I don’t have raw acv or mother of any sorts can I make the vinegar without a mother or raw acv?
It is possible to create vinegar without a starter culture (mother). However, I highly recommend picking up some raw vinegar with the mother or even some kombucha from the store to use as a starter culture for optimal results.
Hi Kaitlynn, I followed this recipe and its now 8 weeks. My mother seems to have dissappered, and it looks like there is powdery sedement at the bottom of the jar. Is this correct?
Vinegar mothers sink to the bottom sometimes! Totally normal. Sediment at the bottom of the jar is also normal! That’s just the microbes settling.
I made the vinegar just as the recipe reads the first time. Second time I used 3 lbs. of apples. Both are fermenting well. But the second is bubbling faster and”more”. I’m having a ball with this. And I SHALL explore your site much further to see what other gems you have.
Thank you!!!!
Some apples have more sugars than others, or more wild microbes, so there’s bound to be variation across batches of vinegar! I love to hear that you’re having a ball fermenting! 🙂
Very clear and helpful info
Very well explained. I have made ACV which has marvelous taste.
This looks very interesting. I have an abundance of passionfruit. In attempting to make this using pulp with or without the seeds? Any thoughts on passionfruit vinegar?
I think passion fruit vinegar should work great!
It took several attempts to make the vinegar because I drank it along the way (delicious!). Loved the vinegar, this time I made enough to age in an oak barrel. The recipe worked very well for me, it’s worth the wait!
thank you so much for leaving a review! I can’t wait to take my oak barrels out again one day and make a big batch of vinegar!